1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods of teaching and devices for improving a golfer's skill and ability, and more specifically, for designating proper setup position for swinging a golf club and for monitoring the position of a user's head during swinging of the club.
2. Description of the Related Art
Golf is a sport that has become exceedingly popular all over the world. It is estimated that about two million people in the United States alone take up the game of golf every year. However, about as many people leave the game each year, largely because they are disappointed and frustrated over their inability to improve their golf technique. It is generally believed by leading golf instructors that it is difficult to improve at golf because (a) the essential fundamentals of a good golf swing feel unnatural to our bodies, (b) all natural instincts of students are absolutely wrong, (c) correct habits must be practiced over and over again to develop new and correct habits (“muscle-memory”) and (d) while practicing to develop new muscle-memory, students must not be practicing bad habits that result in bad muscle-memory that will eventually have to be unlearned. As generally believed by leading instructors, bad muscle-memory is harder to unlearn than it is to learn good muscle-memory from the start.
To improve their abilities, many golfers take lessons from professional golf instructors. Although such lessons can teach an individual the fundamental skills needed to play the game, these golfers are most often not able to improve their golf club swing as much as desired because of a lack of guidance when practicing outside of the instructional setting. Most often students practicing without an instructor revert to, and practice, what feels natural but is in reality bad technique, thereby developing bad muscle-memory. As an alternative to lessons, self-instruction devices have been developed to allow golfers to improve their game by themselves. This approach has a downside in that such devices must be used in the proper fashion to create positive results, which is often difficult for a beginning or high handicap golfer who may have already developed bad habits. Further, even if used properly, these devices are often not proven to aid in proper development of a golfer's club swing technique because, as believed by leading instructors, golf is not a sport that can be self-taught; only with good coaching can the naturally wrong instincts be replaced with the correct fundamentals that initially feel instinctively wrong.
Finally, a deficiency with both professional lessons and self-instruction devices is a lack of a reliable means for monitoring correct “setup position” and monitoring correct balance during the entire swing. Without a way to monitor correct “setup” and “balance”, most students fail to practice them correctly to develop the correct and necessary muscle-memory. Instead they develop bad muscle-memory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,617 of Bergman describes a practice mat for golfers that indicates the suggested placement of the feet of a golfer and a golf ball to be hit, the proper alignment of a golf club in relation to the feet of the golfer and the golf ball, and the suggested direction of travel of the head of the golf club. The mat has a plurality of outlines in the shape of a foot to indicate the suggested foot placement based on the chosen golf club. Also, numerous rectangles are indicated on the mat for placement of the golf ball based on the chosen golf club. However, the practice mat of Bergman does not provide a means for the user to monitor and isolate any position of their body during swinging of a golf club, nor does it aid in prohibiting a golfer from introducing excessive motion sideways, up or down into their technique.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,617 of Light shows a sports training device having a full length mirror to reflect the image of a user and a combined television monitor and video cassette player to depict the optimal positioning and technique of a participant in the selected sports activity. Thus, a golfer could view their image in the mirror while watching a monitor below the mirror show the proper way to swing a golf club. This device does not teach proper foot positioning or proper club alignment for swinging a club, nor does it provide a means for a golf instructor to designate as such. It is also doubtful that a user of the device could view a monitor showing an ideal golf swing while observing their own swing in a full length mirror. Further, the large mirror size and lack of proper indicia would not allow the device to properly isolate a golfer's excessive motion sideways, up or down to enable correction of a flawed golf club swing. This device also lacks convenient portability.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,307 of Krene describes a golf training device comprising a platform on which a golfer stands, a platform upon which a golf ball placement indicating means is located, and a mirror located between the two platforms to enable the user to see their golf club swing as they hit the golf ball located on the adjacent platform. The device comprises three units that are hinged together along longitudinal edges and the mirror is swivably mounted in a frame such that the angle of tilt of the mirror can be adjusted. However, Krene does not teach a device that can be used in conjunction with golf instruction having indicating means capable of being adjusted to tailor such a device to the needs of a specific golfer. Not only are the foot placement and ball placement means not adjustable in position or angle depending on the needs of a particular user, only the angle, and not the position of the mirror can be adjusted. Thus, depending on the user's physical size, skills, or other factors, the mirror would have no way of being properly positioned such that the user could observe the proper features of their swing to identify excessive lateral and/or vertical motion. Such a mirror in the Krene invention is also excessively large and has longitudinal lines that would be ineffective at isolating a small portion of a user's swing, again preventing the user from pinpointing excessive lateral and/or vertical motion in their swing. Further, a user of the Krene device could not accurately view a small portion of their image while focusing on a golf ball to be hit off of a platform adjacent to the mirror.
As an improvement over these methods and devices of instruction, it would be desirable to have a device and instruction kit that would ideally be used along with proper professional golf lessons. The device would have indicating means that can be adjusted by a instructor to ensure each individual user observed proper positioning form when preparing to swing a golf club. Such a device should also allow the user to monitor and isolate a specific component of their swing, namely excessive motion sideways, up or down, (i.e. lateral and vertical motion) whether in the company of an instructor or not, to ensure that proper technique is being used. A further benefit of such a device would be portability such that the device can be used in either the location where instruction is taking place or wherever the user desires to practice their golf swing. Further, an instruction manual can be provided with the device to enable a golfer to successfully practice their golf club swing frequently at any location to correctly muscle-memorize what a golf instructor taught during each of a series of lessons. Although the concept of a prescribed program of at-home practice in slow motion without a ball is almost totally unused today, new research shows that it was frequently prescribed by the most respected instructors of previous generations. Thus, a combination device and instruction manual would be an addition to the at-home practice prescribed in earlier generations. Making it easy for students to practice and develop muscle-memory “at-home” or away from the formal instructional setting is of great importance because so few students find it possible to take lessons or go to a practice range away from home as often as is necessary to develop accurate and long lasting muscle-memory.
Thus, what is needed is a device that can be used in conjunction with an overall golf instructional program to aid a golfer in developing a proper golf swing. The device would ideally designate proper setup positioning and alignment for a user's feet, hands, head, center of the body and golf club handle position (distance from the body) and the angle of the shaft. A golf ball can be included with the device, and is placed off of the mat in a position that helps the student practice the shaft angle recommended by the instructor. A mirror would also be included with the device to allow the golfers to isolate and monitor the position of their heads, specifically their eyes, while swinging a practice golf club to ensure that head movement does not exceed the instructor's recommendations. Also vitally important to the design of the device is the ability of a golf instructor to adjust the position indicators, the mirror and the golf ball based upon the individual needs of the user, as the muscle flexibility of the golfer increases with practice. Further, an instructional manual can be used in conjunction with the device such that the user is able to properly replicate the skills learned during each lesson taught by the golf instructor and shown in the manual.